One Small Step
by DySolo
Summary: How can a genius FBI agent make it work with a famous Hollywood scarlet? Lila/Reid with splashes of Elle/ReidSecond in Deal Breaker Series, running parallel of "Breaking the Cycle".
1. Somebody's Watching Pt 1

**Title: One Small Step  
>Series Information: Part of the Deal Breaker Series, which will be about the intimate relationships of the BAU team members.<br>Pairing: Lila/Reid. Mentioning of Reid/Elle and other couples.**  
><strong>Summary: How can a genius FBI agent make it work with a famous Hollywood scarlet?<strong>

**Notes: **

This story begins during Somebody Watching and will go hand and hand with "Breaking the Cycle" Story. So.. If you'd like to understand more of Elle/Reid's relationship that is mentioned in this story - go read that one! I'd appreciate it much!

I have written the M-rated version of the rooftop scene (which will make much more sense after you read this. It will be posted after this and is going to be called…. 'Underneath the Stars'. It's cheesy I know, but what can I? I am cheesy.

Also, There is another version of these stories floating around. The only one that is (slightly) necessary is Breaking the Cycle. The other version sections were what started these main stories and may not be exactly what is in this story. This story is more planned and a lot more thought out, where as the Elle/Morgan & Lila/Reid stories where basically just a feel & write type of thing. If you would like to read them, go ahead. If not, that's great too. But they are not a part of this revision.

Thank you so much and Enjoy the story! The author notes will be no where near this long again.

* * *

><p>Spencer Reid could not stop thinking about the blonde, Lila, he had recently met in an art gallery. He had gone to support a man he had gone to high school with. He had been one of the few that hadn't made fun of him, so Reid felt like he owed the guy a favor and Gideon was a fan of art, so it made sense. But this girl… she was beautiful. An actress, Parker had said, with a smile to die for. Green eyes, blond hair…tall and thin and completely beautiful. He had thought that already. He looks at his watch. It wasn't that late. Gideon probably wouldn't be knocking on his door until morning. He chews on his bottom lip before he gets up and takes a cab back to the art gallery.<p>

He feels slightly ridiculous as he stands in front of the art he had been looking at before Gideon had pulled him away. She probably would have already left. She was a celebrity, she probably had other places to be. This was incredibly stupid. This is why he didn't do spontaneous things like this before thinking of every situation.

"You're back." He hears a woman behind him.

He turns to see the blonde and her friend. He smiles, despite himself. "I…" He pauses, "I thought I felt something. I had to have another look."

She looks at him for a moment before a smile comes over her face. She looks at her friend who rolls her eyes and leaves the two of them alone. Lila steps towards him, her attention turning back to the art. He does the same before she glances at him briefly. "And did you? Feel anything?"

He tries to focus on the picture but can't, his eyes moving back to the woman next to him. She's even more beautiful than he remembered. "Y-yeah, I think so." He chews on his bottom lip. He knows that he has to appear confident. 'cocky' is the word Elle would use. The older woman was trying to get him to be more comfortable with women, but he knew he was failing at the moment. He felt anything but confident in the actress's presence.

She looks back at him and laughs when she sees him looking at her. He blushes, looking at his shoes. He definitely doesn't feel cocky.. "Do you want to come with us? We were going downtown." She says and he raises his eyes back to her.

"You want me to…" He pauses before he nods, trying to appear confident. "I mean, Yeah. That'd be great."

"Good." She grabs his hand and pulls him towards the woman with the piercing.

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

The music is loud and it hurts his head. He tries not to let it show as he leans towards the blond. "What is this place?"

She laughs, the sound barely audible over the booming music. "It's a lesbian club!" She grabs his hand again and pulls him up some stairs to a room that mutes the music.

"It's what?" He asks again, unable to hear her.

"It's a lesbian bar. It's one of the few spots in LA that isn't crawling with paparazzi. Pinky and I come here all the time to have some fun."

"Are you…" He pauses, frowning.

She cocks an eyebrow before she smirks. "A lesbian?"

He blushes. "I was… I mean, I didn't -"

"How about you?"

"Am I a lesbian?" He asks. He doesn't understand this woman at all. She laughs.

"No, Are you gay?"

He frowns. She thought he was gay? "No! No, not.. You think I'm gay? Is it the hair?" His hand moves to run through his hair but she grabs it before he can and tugs him down to sit. She laughs and he smiles, still slightly disappointed.

"No, I just hoping you weren't."

He looks at her, licking his lips, nervously. "And why is tha-"

She leans in and kisses him. He's shocked by the movement and almost pulls back at first. Elle's voice yells at him inside his head, telling him to be cool, to kiss her back. His hand moves to her neck as he responds to the kiss. He can be cool. She moves up against him, his other arm moving around her back at the movement.

The door opens and Lila pulls away to see Pinky and a woman, making out as they enter the room. Spencer pulls away, immediately, embarrassed at being caught, even though the two women pay no attention to them. Lila laughs to herself before she grabs his hand, pulling him out of the room. She tugs him until they reach the bathrooms, pushing into the men's before she kissing him again.

He pulls back from her kiss, her lips moving against his jaw as he spots the urinal.

"This isn't - Someone could-"

"It's a men's bathroom in a lesbian club, Spence. It's probably the most private place in here." She moves her hand to his jaw, pushing his face back to hers and kissing him again.

"But it's unsanitary." He mutters against her lips and she laughs, pulling away.

"You're not a very spontaneous type of guy are you, Spence?"

He frowns before he kisses her again - Be Cool, Spencer!-, but he just can't do it. He pulls away. "Let me take you somewhere else instead."

She looks at him, slightly curious. He's relieved when she nods.

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

He fidgets, watching her as she stares out of the edge. "Wow." She says, softly. She looks over at him, small smile on her face. "You can see the whole city here."

He smiles, nervously. "Yeah…it's pretty incredible."

"How do you know about this place?" She asks, leaning against the edge, looking at him.

He shrugs. "I.. uh.. I went to Caltech a couple years ago. My Calculus professor owns the building, gave me a key to the roof. I spent a lot time up here."

She smiles, pushing away from the side and moving towards him. "It's amazing."

"Yeah." He looks down at her as she gets very close. He holds his breath when she rests her hands on his chest. He tilts his chin to meet her as she pushes up on her toes to kiss him. He responds instantly to this kiss, expecting it this time after the other ones at the bar. He, hesitantly, wraps an arm around her waist. She pulls away, her hands running up his chest to wrap around his neck.

"You ever want to do something you know you probably shouldn't, but feel like… if you don't do it, you'll regret it more?"

"I don't understand." He says, looking at her. She kisses him again, fingertips brushing against his spine. He shivers a little as she pulls back again.

"I want you."

His eyes widen at her statement. She's blunt. He stares at her for a moment before his mind kicks into gear. "You…You…want… WANT me? Here?"

She bites on her bottom lip, looking a little nervous and he realizes that's exactly what she wants.

"It's not like anyone can see us and… going back to my place, there will be paparazzi and…" She looks up at him, suddenly appearing nervous. "Oh god, you think I'm a whore don't you? I don't usually do this, I swear. I've only been like…" She blushes, pausing herself again. "We don't have to do this, if you don't want, I mean…"

He sits on an air conditioning unit, looking at her. "I've never done something like this." He says, truthfully, "But… I mean, if.. We could see where…" He pauses and reaches out for her.

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

She leans against him with a smile before she pulls back, turning to face him.

"I had a great time tonight, Spence."

He blushes. "Me too." He murmurs, softly.

Her smile widens a little before she nods. "Are you going to be in town for long?"

"I leave tomorrow." He says and frowns. "I'm sorry that I-"

"No, don't be. It kind of works out perfectly, doesn't it?"

His smile falters a little. He knows that he shouldn't have expected more than what happened, but hearing it out loud made it real. "Yeah, I guess so."

She looks over his shoulder and rolls her eyes slightly. "We have company. I should get inside."

He looks over his shoulder seeing a man with a camera. He frowns, turning back to her.

"Of course… It was…. I had a great time tonight."

She grins. "Me too. I think we already said that."

He blushes. "Oh, right." He smiles.

She looks over her shoulder. "Alright. I can't be the bitch who 'gets some and gets gone.' It's just not me. So…" She reaches into her purse, pulling out a pen. "Roll up your sleeve."

He does so and watches as she writes her phone number on his skin before he looks back up at her. She winks.

"Good night, Spence."

He looks back at his arm before back at her, watching her as she escapes back into her house. "Good night."


	2. Somebody's Watching Pt 2

He paces, unable to sit, unable to stop thinking about everything that was wrong since seeing Lila in the police office.

"This isn't….I can't believe….The rules specifically…. I can't get fired. I'm going to get fired and then… homeless…. Oh god, I'm going to be homeless. I can't be homeless. I wouldn't do good on the street, Elle! I'm too skinny. I get cold easy and-"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Elle asks, looking at him like he's insane. He really needs to stop speaking when he's thinking. He knows he doesn't make sense, his brain moving too fast.

"Lila!" He says, turning back to face her.

"How did you get from Lila to…. never mind, I don't even want to know what's going on in that head of yours." She waves him off, looking annoyed with him.

"She's the girl!" He explains. "From the art gallery."

Elle's eyes widen. "That's…. damn, boy. I know I taught you well, but she's a complete hottie, and I don't even play for that team."

What team, he wondered, but lets it go. It's not important right now. "What do I do?" He asks.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

He continues to pace. "Well, the right thing to do would be to… ignore what happened and be professional with the case. That's what I should do. I mean, it's already bad enough that I had intercourse with a victim!"

"She wasn't a victim then, Spencer." Elle says, leaning back against the bed.

"Technically, she was! We just hadn't connected her stalker to the crimes." He says, looking back at her. He doesn't understand how she can be so calm.

Elle smirks at him. "You like her."

"What? No! We just… It was…"

Elle gives him a look and he knows that he can't hide it from her. He sits next to her. "Okay, I like her. a lot. What do I do? I can't… I can't do anything about it now! She's a victim of our crime."

She shrugs. "Why not?"

"She's a victim of our crime. It's… If anything were to happen, it could just because psychologically, she knows that I'm part of the team that is helping her -"

"Don't give me that bullshit, Spencer. She liked you before the crime, She'll like you after for the same reasons."

"But it's against the rules." He tries again.

She smirks and tugs him by his tie, closer. "So break 'em. Didn't you say a while back that you could break the rules?" She taunts, before moving on his lap.

Elle has a way of making him forget the problem at hand, maybe it was the way she pressed herself against him, making the blood rush away from his brain. He presses his lips against her neck, smelling her perfume. Elle had a point. He had already broken many rules by having a physical relationship with her, would it matter if he did the same with Lila?

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

Elle nudges him as a squad car drives away with Maggie in the back.

"So 'you fell in', huh?"

He flushes a little. "You told me to break the rules."

She laughs. "Lucky it was me and Derek rather than Hotch."

His eyes widen. "Oh god, Derek won't tell, will he?"

She smirks. "Oh no. So… are you going to stay the night? Keep her safe after her traumatic experience, hero."

He looks over at the ambulance where they're checking Lila out to make sure she didn't suffer any injuries or anything. She was trying to push them away, blanket wrapped around her in case she was in shock. "I don't think I should. It would be-" He looks back over at her. "What?"

"If you stay the night, you're totally getting laid."

His jaw drops. "Elle!"

She laughs. "What? You save a girl's life and you don't think she's going to give you some?"

He looks around to make sure no one listening to their conversation. He turns his attention back to her. "You really think so?" He asks, softly. "That would be.. I'd be taking advantage of her…."

"It's not taking advantage if she wants it, chico." She pats his cheek before walking off.

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

Spencer checks the large hotel room before he looks back at her. "It's safe."

Lila looks a little hesitant but enters the room. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

He shakes his head. "I don't mind staying."

"Really? I'd like the company. Don't really want to be alone, you know?"

"She's going to be in custody. They won't let her go." He tries to encourage her.

Lila nods, running her fingers through her hair as she sits on the couch.. "I know. When do you think I'll be able to go home?" She asks, turning back to him.

He thinks about it, sitting on the arm of a recliner. "In a couple days. Since we detained her in the house, the crime scene unit will want to get any evidence that could help the prosecution, but you shouldn't be out for long." He nods. "You'd want to go back to that house?"

"It's my home."

"But you're renting it. You could move."

She shakes her head. "I'm not going to let her take everything. She's not going to get out right?" She stands back up, pacing a little.

"With the evidence the police has, the gun and our profile, it's a pretty strong case. I would assume that a jury would find her guilty, yes."

"Then why do I have to move?"

"It would be safer. Just because we've caught Maggie, doesn't mean that her obsession with you has stopped. Actually, the erotomania could continue through her life and you staying in this house could to her, make it seem like that you're trying to keep in contact by not changing anything."

She stares at him, blankly. "So what, you think I should move to DC?"

He looks confused. "How could you move to DC when your job is here?"

She laughs, making her way over to him. "You're kind of cute when you're clueless, Spence."

The corner of his lips quirk into a half smile as her fingers brush against his forehead, pushing the hair out of his face. He looks up at her. "It's very brave of you to not want to change your life because of what happened, but I think for your safety, it would be necessary." He says as she tucks his hair behind his hair, her fingers moving over his neck.

"Can't I just keep you around? You seem to keep me pretty safe." She murmurs.

He blushes, a little and stammers, unsure of what to say to that. She laughs, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"I haven't thanked you for saving my life yet." She says, softly and he shakes his head.

"You don't have to thank me for that. I was just doing my job." He looks up at her again and she smiles.

"Well, I think that I do so thank you." She places one hand on his cheek before kissing the other. He smiles at her as she pulls back.

"You're welcome."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

Spencer stares up at the ceiling as he lays on the couch. This hotel room was bigger than his apartment and he felt out of place. Definitely since there was a woman in bed in the next room. He should get up and finish his files but doesn't want to make any noises that could wake up the woman. She had fought going to sleep in the first place. He chews on his bottom lip before he sits up, turning on the light next to him and grabbing his bag.

A few minutes pass before he hears a door click and he looks up to see Lila standing at the doorway. His eyes run up her bare legs until he reaches her hips and tears his eyes away at the realization she's in only her white tank and a pair of underwear.

"Uh… I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep." He says, keeping his eyes off of her.

"Me neither." She says, before she moves towards him. He looks up at her face as she picks at her nails. He doesn't understand how she's so comfortable with the fact she's not wearing much of anything.

"She was my friend." He frowns at her words.

"I'm sorry. " He says and she raises her chin to look at him.

"It's messed up that I'm thinking about her isn't it? She killed five people."

"She was your friend." He repeats her words and she nods before scoots closer to him, leaning against him. He tenses a little at first before wrapping his arm around her. Her hands move against his chest after a few moments and he finds himself holding his breath. Even though Elle had told him that he might 'get some", he couldn't imagine himself actually taking advantage of her like that. The kiss in the pool had been uncalled for. This…would be much worse. She looks up at him before she tilts her head towards his and kisses him softly. He responds at first, but pulls away.

"Lila, we can't." He says.

"But my case is over…"

"I know, but you're hurting and-"

She kisses him again, before he rests his hands against her elbows, pulling away just far enough to speak. "I don't want to take advantage of you." He says, softly, eyes focusing on her lips. She pulls back the rest of the way to look at him. He raises his eyes to hers, unable to read her reaction. She looks a little confused and then slightly relieved.

"Will you at least come lay with me?" She asks after a minute or so and he nods.

"Of course."

She smiles as she takes his hands. He moves off the couch, keeping his eyes on the floor as he follows her. She sits on the bed before she smiles.

"Cute jammies."

He looks at himself. He's wearing his normal blue pinstripe long sleeve button up and matching pajama bottoms that he always brought on cases. He blushes a little. "They're…uh…."

"Can I wear the top?"

He frowns. "Of my pajamas?"

She smiles. "Yeah. I'm kind of cold."

He looks at her, eyes running over her neck and chest before his eyes widen and he tugs the baggy pajama shirt up over his head. He hands it to her and she laughs at his reaction before putting it on. "How do I look?"

It was strange seeing a woman wearing his clothes and yet, very attractive. He smiles at her before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Beautiful." he says and she smiles largely. Once he's comfortable, she rests her head on his chest, making her self comfortable around him.

"So… Can I ask you some questions?" She asks. "I feel like I should know more about you than I do, after everything that's happened between us."

"Sure." He murmurs, feeling her breath against his skin and trying to focus on her words instead.

"Boxers or briefs?" she pauses and begins again before he can even question why she'd ask something like that. "Wait! I already know that one. Uhm… cats or dogs?"


	3. Machismo Pt 1

Spencer doesn't call her. He figures Morgan has experience in this field and he should take the man's advice. He thinks about the woman though. They had shared intimate details with each other the night he had spent with her and he wanted to know more about her. She had been in multiple papers and magazines lately and he had bought them all, reading about her and how she was dealing with the case. Surprisingly, his own name had been mentioned in a few too. He had read in one that she thought he made her feel safe and that she had joked about a love story between the two, but in others, it was mentioned that she had a boyfriend or was getting back with her boyfriend. He had googled the man. He was a musician, completely different from him. It had only strengthened his decision not to call her.

A week passes before he finds himself pulling out the magazine from his desk. He flips through it, looking at the pictures of the two of them from in front of the police station. She's beautiful, even more than he had remembered.

"Whatcha doin', Pretty boy?"

He hides the magazine quickly but Morgan laughs.

"Thinking about Lila again?" He grins as Spencer puts the magazine back into the drawer.

"No." He mutters, looking back at his files.

"Maybe you should call her. If you like her."

Spencer looks back up at him. "But you said-"

He shrugs, grabbing the ball on his desk. "Maybe I was wrong."

Spencer watches him, noticing how Derek sits up as Elle enters the bullpen.

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

Spencer stares at the card. He had written the woman's number on the back of one of his cards after he had gotten back to his hotel room before the case had started. He bites at his nail as he picks up the phone. He could call her. It wasn't that big of a deal. 10 numbers. He sets down the phone again. What was he supposed to say? It had been two weeks since they left Los Angeles. If he was going to call, he should have done it weeks ago. And since he hadn't called, and she had his number too - she would have called if she wanted to talk to him. She hadn't called either, so maybe it wasn't anything special. They had one night together and then he had saved her and that was the end of it. He needed to just let it go. He needed to just move on.

He jumps when the phone rings. Was she calling now? He shakes the thought away. Consequences like that did not happen. It was ridiculous. He looks at the phone, seeing Elle's name. See? Things like that did not happen.

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

A phone ringing wakes him up. He reaches out blindly, grabbing it and answering without checking the ID.

"Reid." He grunts.

A laugh gets him to open his eyes. "Is that how you always answer the phone, Spence?"

"Lila?"

"The one and only. What are you doing?"

"Sleeping." He says, turning onto his back. He looks at the clock. It's midnight.

"Oh shit, I forgot about the time difference. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I've been busy. The press has been going crazy over…everything, you know?"

"Yeah. I've…. I've seen the magazines."

"Oh yeah? You reading up on me?"

"No! No, I was just…curious on how you were."

"Then why didn't you call me?"

He doesn't know what to say so he doesn't say anything. She chuckles.

"Well, I was curious on how you were too, but then again, I've been hearing your name for the last two weeks too. MTV wanted me to call you on air."

"MTV?"

"…You don't know what MTV is? You poor man."

"I don't watch much TV." He mutters.

"I know. If you did, you'd know 'Musical Television'." She laughs.

"Why were you on MTV?"

"I'm in a music video that's releasing this week. You should check it out. I look really good in it." She jokes.

"You always look good." He says and shuts his eyes. He shouldn't have said that.

"Thank you." She says.

He clears his throat. "What music video is it?"

"The song is called Walk Away. The Band's Oh-Oh-Seven."

"Your ex's band."

She laughs. "Someone has been reading up on me!"

He blushes. "It was mentioned in a…."

"No, it's cute…I'm not getting back with him, FYI. He's not really my type."

"Oh? What's your…type?"

"I don't know. Tall, skinny… kinda nerdy, but super cute. Smart."

"He is tall and skinny."

She laughs. "Spence, you don't get subtle hints do you?"

"….What?"

"Nothing."

He frowns. "Okay."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

"Halloween is coming up." Derek says. "I was thinking about having a party."

"Costume party?" Spencer asks, excitedly, stirring his coffee.

"A costume party? What are we, twelve?"

Spencer shrugs. "I think it would be interesting. I wonder what JJ would dress up as."

Derek turns his attention back to him. "Genius, you might just have a good idea there. Beautiful ladies in skimpy outfits. Count me in."

"I don't think JJ's the type that would do that."

"do what, sweet cheeks?" Garcia asks, making her way into the coffee room

"Dress up in something skimpy for Halloween." He tells her and Garcia's eyes flash.

"Are we having a costume party. Oh, Spencer! You have to dress up with me, something flashy. Ooh! Ooh! Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Bulter! Dashing and Elegant."

"What, baby girl? You don't want to dress up with me?"

"Oh no, my chocolate thunder. I want you dressed down." She winks and Reid shakes his head.

"I don't know. I was thinking about going as The Flash."

Both Garcia and stare at him before he frowns. "Okay, I'll be Rhett Butler instead."

Garcia squeals. "Good! Good! I have to go buy my costume!" She kisses his cheek before rushing back to her office.

Derek chuckles before he sips his drink. "You should get Elle to come too."

Spencer looks at him confused. "You're not going to ask her?"

He shrugs. "Of course, I'm going to tell everyone to come, but… she doesn't seem to be the kind that would dress up, you know?"

Spencer watches him. "Uh huh."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

"You're going out for Halloween?" Lila asks during their nightly phone call. It's almost become tradition now. She had called him every night for the last couple of weeks.

"Morgan invited me to his party and then Garcia -"

"She's the one I didn't meet right?"

"Yeah, you'd like her. She wanted me to be the Rhett to her Scarlett."

"Gone with the Wind?"

"You know it?"

"Of course. Vivien Leigh is amazing."

"Audrey Hepburn was better."

"Lies! Vivien was in Gone with the Wind, one of the classics."

He laughs. "Hepburn was in My Fair Lady." He challenges.

"You like musicals?"

"I like George Cukor."

"And Hitchcock?"

"And Welles." He says.

"So you don't know about MTV, but you know all about George Cukor, Hitchcock and Welles?" She laughs.

"It's what I grew up with." He shrugs. "They're great directors."

"They are! They're all amazing. I'm just…shocked that you know them."

"I have every Hitchcock movie."

"You do? Spencer Reid, I love you."

"…What? I think that's moving a little-"

She laughs. "I'm just teasing you, Spence. Are you tired or…you want to watch a movie together?"

"Only if I get to choose." He says.

"Oh? And what do you choose?" She says and he can hear the teasing in her voice.

"To Catch a Thief. Hitchcock."

"Grace Kelly." She laughs, "Are you being cute?"

"Well… I did read an article which mentioned your resemblance to her. I don't see it, though. You're much more beautiful." He smiles to himself.

"You can be quiet the charmer, Dr. Reid. But you got yourself a deal."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

His phone rings as he straightens his tie.

"Hello?"

"Oh my god, You have facial hair!" Lila laughs. He had sent her a picture after she had done the same. "You look good! Better than Clark Gable."

He blushes. "Well thank you. You look good too." He didn't know what she was supposed to be, but the outfit had been really revealing.

"Eh, I wish coming with you instead of going to the party I have to. I'm jealous! Do you have a date?"

"No. Well… I was going to go to my friend, Elle's house, first to see if she wanted to go. Morgan wants her to come, but he's too…"

"alpha male to beg?"

"That works."

She laughs. "So you're going to go beg for him?"

"He likes her and he won't say anything." He explains.

"Sounds like someone I know." She says.

"What?" He doesn't get it.

She laughs. "Just this guy that I've been talking to for the last month. I've been trying to get him to realize that I like him, but he doesn't seem to be getting the idea."

He frowns. "Oh. That's…. I should get going then."

"Spence! I'm talking about you, you dork!" She says, rushed.

"Me?" He smiles. "You…you like me?"

"Duh. For someone so smart, you can be pretty dumb sometimes, Spence." 


	4. Machismo Pt 2

Author's notes: So.. There's a scene that repeats in Breaking the Cycle and this story. I don't want to make those who don't want to have to read BtC (Although I think you should, but I'm biased) so it's kind of necessary. Although, I think that reading just Chapter 19 of that story would be beneficial, but hopefully not necessary. I hope that I'm explaining what happens in that story well enough in this story that it stays that way. Is anyone reading this story that isn't reading BtC? Are you confused, do I need to explain more? Leave some reviews, let me know.

Also, I know that these "phone conversation" chapters are a lot talk, which is why the Elle/Morgan drama is kinda seeping in this story just to give some action, but the story will pick up. I thought about skipping over these until they see each other again, but I do think there's some good relationship building that could happen over the phone. There's something less...scary about talking about yourself and your stuff on the phone than standing face to face with someone and I think that's good for Reid, you know? I don't know. We'll see what happens.

* * *

><p>"Reid." He answers the phone, looking at the files of the case. He was expecting Lila to call, she usually called earlier than this.<p>

"Hola mi…ahh.. Shit, hold on.. amigo caliente!"

He laughs. "Hey, Lila." He closes the file. "How are you?"

"Muy Bueno! How are you? How's Mexico? Did you go to the beach?"

"No. We're working a case. I can't go to the beach."

"That sucks. You know who the bad guy is yet?"

"No, not yet, but we're working on a profile."

"That's cool. You should catch the bad guy and then come to LA, since you're so close."

He bites on his bottom lip. "I…don't know. Aren't… you working?"

"Yeah, but…" She sighs. "You're right. I'd be stuck at work all day. You wouldn't have much fun. My week is horrible this week. My character is going through some big things right now, so I'm filming more scenes than usual. But I want to see you again, you know without someone trying to kill me."

"You want to me see again?" He asks and she chuckles. Even though she had admitted to liking him, it still felt strange to him. Like it wasn't real.

"Of course. I was thinking we could start over from after the night at the art gallery. You could call me…ask me out to dinner and we could just forget about all the crazy stalker, you worked my case and saved my life stuff that made you all weird."

"I wasn't weird. I was just trying to follow protocol."

"Yeah, you were weird. Had to jam my tongue down your throat for you to even kiss me again!"

"You didn't have to pull me into a pool to kiss me."

She laughs. "But it was so much fun wasn't it? Come on, you know you liked it."

He rolls his eyes, but can't help the smile that comes over his face.

"What if I don't want to forget that night?"

"Well… we could not forget anything too. I mean, I kind of think it's sexy that you saved my life. You're my white knight."

"Morgan said I was your hero." He says, with a blush.

She chuckles. "Is that what you want to be called? My hero?"

"No! No, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Hush. You were my hero." She tells him. "But that's not the reason I like you, you know… even if you didn't work my case, I would like you. I looked up transference, mister."

He smiles to himself and she continues.

"I just don't want you to think that is why I called you. I mean, I had given you my number before then if you remember."

"I do."

"Then… you know that I wanted you to call me. And then you never did."

"Morgan told me that it-"

"Well Morgan's an idiot." She cuts in. "But it's okay, because I called you and now we're talking and you're going to come visit me soon, right?"

"Right."

"Good."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

"What's going on in that head of yours?" JJ asks, sitting next to him.

"Do you think relationships work? Elle and I were talking and she says that you should just get what you need and leave. Plus, Morgan told me not to call Lila, inducing that it wasn't worth the trouble. Gideon's divorced and Hotch - " He pauses. Hotch was still married and happy. "well if Hotch can do it, can't someone else?"

"Well what do you think?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. I think that Elle and Morgan are both afraid to trust in people…but do they have reason to? I've been here for almost two years now and I know that….a lot of bad things happen in the world, but science tells me that for every reaction there is an opposite an equal reaction. So everything has to equal out, right? Doesn't there have to be just as many good things as bad things?"

"I think so." She shrugs.

"Then why not try to gain the good things? Why focus on the bad?"

"Because it's easy to remember the bad things more. I mean, think about it, what was your worst experience?"

"High school." He frowns and she laughs.

"I know what you mean" - but she doesn't - " but do you remember any good memories from high school?"

He pauses, thinking about it. "A couple." He had met his former best friend in high school. He really needed to call Ethan. It had been years.

"Does it equal out?"

He frowns. Ethan was a great friend, but nothing could equal out the torture that was high school.. "No. It was awful."

JJ laughs and ruffles his hair.. "Well, bad example then. But still, I think it all equals out. Maybe It just takes some time, but I believe that it comes around. We just have to continue to help the good win out, you know?

He thinks about it. "So you think that I should continue to try and make Elle tell Derek she likes him?" He asks, before his eyes widen. He wasn't supposed to share that! Elle was going to tell JJ he liked her now.

JJ's eyebrows shoot up before a grin comes over her face. "Keep talking."

"I can't. I didn't mean that."

"Oh no. You did. Tell me more." He looks at her. She's giving him a look he can't resist. He gulps, looking around before he leans in. "You can't tell Garcia!"

"Of course. Our little secret."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

JJ and he had had a long talk about Elle and Derek. JJ had already had suspicions, so he didn't feel like he had completely broken Elle's trust. She could have figured it out on her one. They were only trying to help. He told her that he had tried to convince Elle to tell him and JJ had told him that she had saw the two together and Elle looked like she going to anything but admit her feelings. They get a lead to the case before they can continue to discuss the problem, but as soon as the case was over, the two begin to plan a way to get the two to finally admit it. He stands at Elle's door, waiting to confront her about not telling Derek. Elle stops when she sees him, looking annoyed.

"What?"

"JJ told me about the coffee." He says, trying his best to sound disappointed.

She crosses her arms over her torso. "The coffee?"

"You and Derek. I thought you were going to tell him that you li-"

She pushes past him to unlock the door before pulling him before he can finish his sentence.

"Spencer. We had this talk."

"And you said you would tell him."

"I said I'd decide if I would and then I decided that I'm not. The end."

He glares. "But you agreed that-"

"Spencer. I love you, I do. You're adorable and smart and a great guy, but mind your business."

She moves to the bathroom to shower.

"You are my business."

She turns back to him before walking up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Chico, I'm going to say this one and you're going to listen, okay?"

He nods, looking down at her.

"If you don't get out of my room, you and our unsub are going to be twins. Yo entiendo?"

He gulps. "Y-yeah."

She smiles and pats his cheek. "Good night, Spencer."

He nods and moves towards the door, a little nervous. Maybe this plan was a bad idea. Once she found out that he had told JJ about her and Derek and planned out a way to get the two agents together, she was going to hurt him. He needs to go talk to JJ.

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

"Hey, cutie. Crack the case? Lila answers the phone as he makes his way back inside his room.

"We did. We leave tomorrow."

"Bueno Job-o!"

He laughs. "Job-o?"

She laughs. "What can I say, I speak French."

He sits on the bed. "You speak French?"

"After my parents divorced and custody was decided, my dad took me to France for the summer. I think he was trying to make up for the divorce and the fact that my brother and sister stayed with my mom. He felt like he had to compensate."

"Did he?"

"No. I stayed with my dad because I love my dad…but France was amazing. We made a annual thing until I got into McCallum."

"McCallum?"

"It's a fine arts high school in Austin."

He nods to himself. "Have you been there since?"

He was intrigued to be learning more things about her. The night he had spent the night with her, they had talked about random things, like favorite color and what you wanted to be when you grew up. Things that weren't essential to the real personality, but this was different. This is things that had made her who she was.

"No, I worked my ass off in high school to get in Juilliard and then got busy with everything New York had to offer. Then Michael found me in New York and brought me here and I mean, I feel like I haven't stopped. I need to. I need to go home, spend time with my dad. He speaks French like it's his native language, but I think that if I hadn't choose to live with him, you know?, he would have moved there and became some great artist or something. When I get my first big movie roll, I'm going to buy him a villa in Paris."

He smiles to himself. Her circumstances had been so much different than his own. The complete opposite, almost. "That's nice." He says, wondering what it would be that close with his own father.

"What about you? Where'd you go to high school? I read you went to CalTech. You're some kind of genius? I didn't want to Google you, I thought it might be a little creepy."

"I don't really believe that intelligence can be calculated, but…" he pauses. "Yeah, I'm sort of a genius. I graduated high school at 12 and went to CalTech at 13. I got my first PhD at 16, in math."

"But you're just 'sort off a genius'?" She laughs. "Your parents must be super proud of you, a doctor in math and a super FBI agent?"

He sucks in his bottom lip, unsure of what to say at first.

"Yeah, really proud." He says, eventually. It's not a complete lie, although he knew it wasn't the truth either. if his father had known, he would have been proud of him, Spencer assumed, and his mother had always been proud of his accomplishments when she was lucid. He would tell her the truth eventually, but at the moment, he just didn't know how. How was he supposed to tell her that his father didn't want to be around him and his mother, when she wasn't under medication, thought he and the government were trying to take her away? One couldn't just say that over the phone without appearing crazy themselves, and especially did not want Lila to think that. 


	5. Charm and Harm

"Guess what!" Lila says, excitedly during her nightly phone call.

"…I'm not a very good guesser." He says, unsure of where to even start.

"I have a photo shoot for a swimsuit issue!" She says. "I'm going to freeze my ass off, but… it's going to be amazing."

"It's November," He says, with a frown.

"Yeah, I know. They release it in February."

"But it's not even-"

"It's an ad thing. So people in April and May, buy the bathing suits they saw in the issue in February."

"But wouldn't it make more sense to have the issue in April?"

"I don't know. I'm just the face."

"You're more than just a face." He says with a shake of his head.

"Why, thank you, Doctor."

A moment of silence passes and Spencer chews on his lip. "What magazine is it?"

"I mention Swimsuit Issue, and you don't know? Okay, another hint. I play a what on tv?"

"A….volleyball star?" He asks, unsure what that had anything to do with it.

"And that's a what?"

"…Athlete?"

"Yes so…Athletes…. Swimsuit issue…major excitement means…." She trails off and he waits for her to finish. When neither of them say anything after a moment, she sighs.

"Sports Illustrated! It's a huge thing. I mean when I used to model in college, that was a model's dream to be in the SI Swimsuit Issue cover girl. And now I'm going to be in it!"

"Are you going to be on the cover?"

"God, no. We're doing a spread for the show. Anna, Katie, Quinn and I."

"That's…nice." He's not sure why it's such a big deal. He's seen her in plenty of magazines. He doesn't understand why a sports magazine is much better.

"It is nice, because you know what? If you promise not to send them to the media, I'll send you some pics."

"Why would I send them to the media?" He doesn't get her a lot of the time.

She chuckles. "Never mind, Spence. Just tell me about your day."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

Spencer sits at his desk, swiveling in his chair. It was late, not even Hotch was still here, but he didn't feel like heading home. He had just visited Elle, trying to apologize again for his and JJ's attempt to get Morgan and she together. And again, she had slammed the door in his face. He swivels more in his chair before he turns back to his desk. Since, he had traveled here, he might as well get some work done and make it a worth-while trip. He chews on his bottom lip before he grabs some of the woman's files. If she wouldn't let him apologize, the least he could do is cut down some of the work she had to do.

He doesn't know how long he's been at the office when his phone rings. He's finished his own files and half of Elle's though. He picks up the phone, assuming it's Lila and is surprised when it's not.

"Dale? I don't know a-" He pauses when the other person speaks again. "I'll be there soon."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

Spencer enters the bar to see Elle sipping her drink. He moves next to her and she turns and smiles.

"Hey sexy."

She's definitely drunk.

"Hey." He says. "I'm here to take you home."

She grins. "Oh yeah? You going to make up for breaking my trust and embarrassing me in front of Derek. You know that he probably knows how. I can barely look at him at work now!"

He frowns. "I'm sorry, Elle."

She turns back to her drink, finishing it before she looks back at him.

"You better be. You got a lot of making up to do." She stands and wraps her arms around him. "I'm talking major begging. On your knees. In between my knees." She leans against him and Spencer turns bright red, looking at the bartender he barely knows. The man smirks, but doesn't say anything. Elle tugs at his tie.

"Come on, lover. Take me home."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

His phone rings as she sits on the bed. She grins, grabbing the phone.

"Lila Archer!"

Spencer looks at her nervous. He hadn't told Lila about Elle and his sort-of relationship. He hopes that Elle didn't say anything.

"No, Spencer's taking care of me. He's a good boy." She winks at him.

Spencer kneels on the bed, trying to take the phone, but she pushes him back.

"Wait. I'm still supposed to be mad at him, because he was an ass." She frowns. "I'm mad at you. You need to beg for my forgiveness. " She giggles and Spencer just nods.

"I know. Give me the phone."

"You're an ass."

"I know, give me the phone." He repeats, taking the phone out of her hand to hear Lila's laugh.

"She's drunk."

"I know." he murmurs, watching the woman lay on her back, undoing her pants and wiggling out of them.

"You know, I don't know who's better."

Spencer looks at her. "What?"

"What?" Lila asks and he shakes his head.

"Sorry. Elle was…"

"Did you know, Derek can be very giving. It's…very sexy. God damn it, Spencer. I like him."

"I know you like him. That's why I tried to help-"

"You told my secret! We were keeping each others secrets. I didn't tell JJ you liked her!" She pouts.

"You liked JJ?" Lila asks and Spencer blushes.

"Temporarily."

"Bullshit!" Elle says. "Derek said you've been in love with her since you got to the BAU."

"In love with her, huh?" Lila teases.

"I….It's not like that."

"It is! They even went on a date! HE KISSED HER."

"She kissed- I mean…"

"You two kissed?"

"It was a year ago and we decided we were better off as friends."

"You mean she decided." Elle says and Spencer glares.

"Do you still like her?" Lila asks.

"No, I like you." He says.

Elle laughs. "And does he like you! Oh man, he talks about you, like crazy. Red anemones and…"

"That was from the case."

"Travis Bartley wasn't from the case! You said that he was-"

"Lila, I'll call you back." He says over Elle and hangs up to Lila's laugh.

"- a tattooed small-minded drug addict who played an instrument anyone could learn that knew simple math!" She finishes even after Lila's off the phone. He glares.

"I really do prefer the affectionate drunk you over this version."

Elle crawls over to him before getting on her knees. "Are you telling me you want me? What would your girlfriend have to say about that?" Her hands move up his chest before he grabs her wrists.

"She's not my girlfriend."

Elle smirks. "Oh yeah?"

His eyes widen a little. "Not that I mean, we - I don't - Elle, stop. You're completely inebriated."

"I'm not drunk."

He looks at her. "How many drinks did you have?"

"Don't do that math bullshit on me, Spencer." She glares and moves away from him, tugging her wrists out of his grasp. "I'm going home."

"You are home."

She looks around before frowning. "Okay. Maybe I'm a little drunk." She makes a face. "I don't feel good."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

He sees Elle jumps when Derek slams his helmet on the desk. She groans. "Can you please be quiet?"

"What? Too much to drink?" Derek asks and Elle glares at him.

"I didn't say anything!" He squeaks.

She rolls her eyes and moves to the break room. Derek looks at him before he follows after the woman. Spencer frowns to himself, hoping that Elle would have forgiven him after the night before, but it didn't look likely. He tries to concentrate on his work until hs phone beeps. He looks down to see he has a message. His eyes widen when he sees the picture of Lila barely covered.

"Wow."

He jumps when he hears Morgan, turning to look at the man. The man steals the phone as it beeps again.

"Damn! There is no way you hit that."

Spencer snatches his phone back, moving back to his seat. "I would never abuse a woman." He says, seeing Elle joining them again.

Derek laughs. "No, Reid, I meant.." He shakes his head. "Never mind."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

"Did you like the pictures?" Lila asks when she calls the next morning.

He blushes. "I… You looked great. Morgan said-"

"You showed Morgan?" Lila asks, her voice amused.

Spencer stirs his coffee. "I didn't mean to! He stole my phone and-"

"So you didn't mean to show me off? I'm hurt. You don't think I'm sexy?"

"No. I do! I do, I just thought -"

She laughs and he pauses. "He told me that he couldn't believe I hit that. What does that mean?"

She laughs again. "He said that? Well, you tell him that you did in fact hit it and when you come to visit me, you're going to hit it again….multiple times."

He frowns. "What does that mean?"

She explains and he blushes, deeply. "Multiple times?" He asks, softly, seeing JJ moving to the copy room. They probably were going to have a case. He turns his back to the bullpen and copy room.

"Multiple times." She says.

"Interesting."

"Interesting? Oh, you're at work aren't you? That's too bad. We could have continued this conversation." She teases.

"Continue it? How so?" He asks.

She laughs. "Oh, come on, cutie. I'm not that mean to get you all hot and bothered at work. That would be very unprofessional. Maybe tonight."

He frowns. He didn't really understand what she was talking about. "I might have a case today."

"Oh. That sucks. But, I have to get on set. Be safe. You need to stay healthy for our conversation continuation."

She hangs up and he looks at his phone, wondering what he had gotten himself into. 

* * *

><p>Author's note: On the bottom, this time! Whoo, change-up! FINALS ARE DONE! YESSIR! so Updates might come flyingly. Yes, Flyingly.<p>

I just thought Spencer would have no idea what phone sex-stuff was and it amused me. And I think that Lila was just teasing him, anyways. I don't know if I can see Spencer doing that, for one, although I imagine as an actress...Lila could pull it off pretty well. Go Read Breaking the Cycle for the Derek and Elle drama attached to before the Charm and Harm case (which is one of my favorite episodes in Season 1).

Oh, and because I mentioned Sports Illustrated, let me say that I don't own it or anything. I don't even know if actresses pose in it, but I figured the volleyball tv show gave it a shot of happening, so whatever. Its my story and I can do what I want. lol. I might post the SI interview/article in Interviews and Articles (just to talk about Emotional Cages, because...I want to figure out what the show would be about.)


	6. Secret and Lies

Spencer sets down his messenger bag before he pulls out his phone. When on cases, Lila and he didn't communicate as much as when he wasn't. He found the conversations with her to be distracting and so far, she had been respectful of that, only asking of him to call her once he was home. It was nice to have someone to call that was worrying about him. It rings twice before a voice answers.

"Lila's phone." It's a man and he frowns. What is he supposed to say?

"Hello?" The voice says again and he clears his throat.

"Hello?" He says.

"Hello." It repeats. "Lila's filming still. Can I tell her who's calling?"

He relaxes, realizing that the person on the phone must be her assistant. She had mentioned she had hired her friend after the stalking incident. She didn't like her new manager and it was a way to not have to deal with him. Everything went through Dante, the assistant.

"It's Spencer. I just wanted to -"

"You're the FBI agent." The man says and Spencer sits down. Had Lila been talking about him? "You saved her life. Totally awesome, by the way. I always thought Mags was a little creepy, but she and Little were close."

Spencer listens to the man ramble. "Little?"

"You don't get it? Her name is Lila. Lil' is a nickname, but it's also shortened version of…"

"Little, right. But Little is longer than her name. Why nickname someone something longer than her actual name."

"It's shorter than -"

"Don't you say it." He hears Lila's voice.

"Delilah." The man says, cheekily before he hears static from the voice changing hands.

"Whoever this is, please ignore my douche-y friend."

"It's 'Agent Cutie.' Not that I think you're cute, Spencer!" The assistant/friend calls out.

"You're fired." He hears Lila say before she says something in the phone. "Sorry about that Spencer. Just ignore him. He's crazy."

"Agent Cutie?" Spencer repeats.

"It's what the girls on set are calling you."

"You don't call me that?"

She laughs. "Are you asking me if I think you're cute, Spence?"

"I…"

"Because I think you're much more than cute, but they already have an Agent Hottie."

"Agent Hottie?" He repeats.

"Morgan, but you're home?"

"I am."

"One less bad guy on the streets. Awesome."

He smiles to himself. He doesn't mention that at a given time, there's a 20- 50 active serial killers at work and how tomorrow, he could be chasing down an even more dangerous man than Mark Gregory. To Lila, he caught the bad guy and things were better - and he liked thinking of it like that, even for a brief second.

"But Spence, I still have another scene I have to film, but I should be home early. Can I call you then?"

"Of course."

"We'll continue that conversation from before." She says before she hangs up.

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

He's already in bed, by the time she calls.

"Hey, sexy." She says. "I'm home."

"Mmh." He hums, already half-asleep.

"You're sleeping aren't you? And I was just about to get into the bath."

"The bath?" He murmurs and she laughs.

"That got your genius attention. Yep, the bath. Totally naked and wet and all that good stuff."

"Good stuff." He says, rubbing his eyes before his mind catches up as he awakes. "Wait, what?"

She giggles again. "Are you awake now?"

"I'm up."

"Good. I want to hear about your case."

"You want to hear about my case….in the bath." He makes a face. "No, you don't." He says, remembering how the man had drown victims in the tub. "Let's talk about you."

"I bet you'd like to talk about me." She teases and he thinks about his words before he blushes.

"I didn't… mean it like-like that!" He says.

"Aww, so you don't really want to know what I'm doing?"

He frowns, unsure of what the right answer was. "I assume you're getting clean."

"Yeah, but I can get a little dirty too."

His eyes widen when he thinks of 'dirty' things that were possible when bathing. "You mean…." He can't finish his sentence. What if he was wrong? He could definitely be wrong. He shakes away the thoughts and she giggles again.

"So, your vacation. I have from the 14th off until like the third, so please tell me your vacation time is somewhere in between that, so I get as much as possible with you."

He smiles. "It starts on the 20th and I get two weeks."

"Great. I still will have to do some interviews and stuff, but you should get most of me for two weeks. I'm excited."

"I should visit my mother while I'm there too."

"Oh right! You're from Las Vegas, right?"

"Right. How did you know that?"

"I couldn't help it, I Google-d you after you told me you got your first PhD. You made it sound like you had more than one, so… I had to figure out how many you had. Three PhDs, Spence? You're like a super genius."

He laughs. "There's no such thing as a super genius. Intelligence is only qualified in-"

"Shut up, you know what I mean. You're like one of the smartest people in the US right now. I found some of the papers you published and I couldn't even get through the first sentence."

"So what did you find out about me?" He asks, nervous about what he could have found.

"Oh, not much. That you were born in Las Vegas and have 3 PhDs. That you joined the FBI when you were 21 and stuff about the cases you've worked. You saved a group of people at a hospital or something?"

She's talking about the Dowd case and he frowns, remembering how he had killed a man that day. "Yeah."

"It's funny. I knew your favorite color is purple and you like Thai food and your favorite authors, but I didn't even know where you were born. I still don't know your birthday."

"October 9, 1980."

"July 26," She says. "So you're a Libra. Interesting."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we're a great combination."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

"I have another call." He says with a yawn. He couldn't believe that he had stayed up all night talking to the woman.

"Who's calling you at 2 am?" She asks. "I'm jealous."

He grins. "My boss."

"Oh." She groans. "Sucks. Hurry back."

He switches over. "Reid." He says.

"We have a case."

"Now?"

"Yes. Get here soon." Gideon hangs up quickly and Reid switches back over.

"I have a case."

"But you just had a case. Can't the bad guys can a night off?"

"I wish. I need to change." His phone beeps again. "That's JJ, I have to go."

"JJ's calling you now? Now I'm really jealous." She teases.

"You shouldn't be."

"Alright, I'll try, if you'll try not to kiss her again."

He blushes. "Good night, Lila."

"Good night."

**Deal Breaker || One Small Step**

The case is a quick one and he finds himself home very quickly, after going to breakfast with Derek and Elle. He calls Lila as he moves into the bedroom.

"Oh my god, it is my day off and you're calling me at 6 am. Who is this and what do you want?"

"…It's Spencer."

"Oh! Sorry. Hey, Spence. Case over already?"

"Yeah." He says, kicking off his shoes.

"That's good." She yawns. "It's six am."

"Nine." He says, removing his button-up. "I wanted to apologize for the abrupt ending to our phone call last night and wanted to make it up by calling as soon as I possibly could."

"Oh yeah? That's sweet, but it's six am. Have you even slept yet?"

"No, I wanted to call you as-"

"Right. Well, Spence. Go to bed and call me when you wake up and you can make it up to me all you want, but sweetie, I've been getting up at 4 every morning this week and I need to sleep."

"Oh, Okay. Good night." He says, softly.

"Wait, you okay?" She asks.

He thinks about a comment Elle made at breakfast. The case at the CIA had agitated his childhood fears, brought on by his schizophrenic mother. Elle had called him out on it, calling him paranoid. How had Lila been able to catch that? Elle and Derek hadn't even seen it.  
>"You sound sad." She explains. "I can stay up if you want me to."<p>

"I'm just tired." He explains, sitting on the bed. That was probably what Lila was picking up on anyway.

"You sure? You were tired last night and still talking in long confusing sentences at times. Did something happen on the case?"

"No."

"See! Short answers again! Something's up, tell me."

He doesn't know if he likes the fact that she's able to read him over the phone. It's strange, but it also makes sense due to the fact he likes her. He's more open with her than he would be with anyone else, including his work colleagues. His job was dangerous and there was somewhat of a distance that had to be kept, even with his closest friends. Still, there are secrets he has to keep from Lila too and this was one of them, for the moment. There was a time and a place to admit to mental illness and it was neither.

"I'm really just tired. Did you know that lack of sleep can result in-"

"Yeah. It's too early for facts, baby face. Call me when you wake up."

He says his goodbyes before he hangs up. He knows how his facts and intelligence can be used and sometimes, he uses in a way, he know he shouldn't. But sometimes, it was necessary to use it as a way to escape conversations that he didn't want to have. Other people had different avoiders. It wasn't like he was doing anything that everyone else did.


	7. Fisher King Part One

Author notes: So...it's been a while since I posted a DB chapter - and for good reason, I reread Breaking and I went "Wuh? Elle seems kind of slutty/too emotional. Where'd the kick ass Elle from the show go?" so... I'm editing the story and fixing a few things. I have re-posted the first two chapters and have finished the first 6 (but can't post them because i'm changing up Elle/Morgan's time-line a little and adding the new chapters would not make sense with the old chapters just yet). So as soon as I get down with the reworking of BTC, I will post the companion to this chapter for them, but I thought you guys might want a new chapter of something, so here's the geekywood fisher king part one (part one?) chapter! Enjoy.

Oh! Also, if you're a Lila/Reid fan - I posted a new story of them which isn't much different that this, idk maybe. We'll see. But it's called Effortlessly. Go Check it out, if you wanna.

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><p>Spencer stares up at the house that Lila is renting now. It seems bigger than the one before. He's nervous standing in front of it and looks behind him, wondering if anyone was taking his picture. He knocks, not wanting to stand out there for long. He looks back behind him, noticing a car parked. He turns back and sees Lila standing at the door, clad in only a pink towel.<p>

"Wow. Hi."

She giggles, looking behind him.

"Didn't you say that Derek was teasing you?"

He looks behind him at the car again. "Yeah, is that a…photographer?"

"It is. Come on." She grabs his hand and pulls him inside.

"If you knew there was a photographer out there, why did you answer the door in.."

She readjusts the towel as she closes the door, making his eyes fall slightly before they raise back to her face with a blush.

"Because, I thought I'd show Derek Morgan just how lucky you were going to get this weekend." She kisses his cheek before she moves back to the bathroom. "I'll be right back." She calls out before the door clicks close. He looks at the door she went in, trying to figure out what she meant. He was going to get lucky this weekend? He shakes away the thoughts, before looking through the house. It's not as big as it looks from the outside, roughly the same square feet as the one she had rented before. It's filled with art and he pauses to look at three pieces, all which look like painted snap shots of New York.

"So, I was thinking we could just stay in tonight." She says, coming back out still drying her hair. She smiles when she sees him, looking at the art. She glances at them. "Dante painted them. They're amazing aren't they?"

"They're very well crafted." He says, looking back at her and she rolls her eyes, playfully.

"And tomorrow I'm taking you to an art gallery. I'm going to get you to appreciate the arts."

"I appreciate art." He says, defensively. "I just don't understand how a piece of canvas with oil-based colored paste can make a person feel extreme emotion."

"What about music? Or a movie? Haven't you ever just seen or heard something and could not believe how beautiful it was?"

He thinks about it, frowning. "No, not really."

"Nothing? You've never seen anything that's made you contemplate something more than…mathematical and chemical….what's your other degree?"

"Engineering."

"Engineerical stuff!"

"Engineerical isn't a word, Lila."

She sticks out her tongue at him. "You know what I mean."

"I saw you and lost capability to use the Broca's area of my brain."

She laughs before she moves closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I have no idea what that means, but I'm going to pretend it was something really sweet." She kisses his cheek before tugging him closer into a hug. "God, I'm so glad to see you. I was forgetting what you looked like."

His arms wrap around her waist, slowly, holding her closer. She smelled like citrus. She pulls back and smiles.

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

"Good. Did you go see your mom?"

He licks his lips. He had gone, but he hadn't seen her. "No." He says.

"And why not? I'm sure she'd love to see you? When was the last time you were in town and went to see her?"

She moves towards the kitchen and he notices that she's wearing jeans and a dark blue shirt with pale blue lettering. It's a shirt from her alma mater and he smiles. He doesn't have any CalTech t-shirts.

"Stop checking me out and answer my question."

He looks at her with a blush. "I was just looking at your t-shirt."

"That's what they all say. So when was the last time?"

He frowns. "I was 18 the last time I saw her."

"Spencer Reid! That was six years ago."

"Seven, actually." He corrects and her glare tells him that she's not impressed. "I write to her every day, though. It's not like I just abandoned her." He says, and he's unsure who he's trying to convince.

She opens a bottle of water, looking at him. "Me and my mother don't get along much, but still, I visit her at least twice a year, Spence. Why haven't you seen her?"

She moves back into the living room and sits down, looking up at him. He shrugs before he sits down. He can't think of an answer that doesn't involve telling her the truth.

"I should kick you out of my house until you see her." She says, before she leans against him. "But I'm going to be selfish and keep you to myself for the day. She grabs his arm and pulls it around her. "I thought we could watch Gone with the Wind. Just to prove that Vivien Leigh is better than Hepburn."

**Deal Breaker || Breaking the Cycle**

He ends up watching her more than the movie. She seems so relaxed, laying against his chest, keeping his arm around her. His senses are filled with her. The citrus scent stuck in his nose, her warmth pressed against him. She murmurs the lines under her breath, quiet enough to still hear the actors on screens, but loud enough that he can hear her. She knows them all and he's impressed by the ability. As one of the more romantic scenes begin to play, she pulls his arm up to her chest and he can feel the coolness of the letter print. She leans to kiss his knuckle as his eyes move back to her.

"Lila." He says, softly and she turns in his arms.

"Hmm?" She hums, before moving her hands to his chest. She moves a little closer.

"You smell really good."

He looks at her, "What?"

"I didn't remember you smelling so good."

"I shower twice a day." He says, looking at her. She smiles and rests her head on his chest.

"It's Old Spice, isn't it?"

"Yeah. How-"

"My dad wears it."

He frowns, unsure if that's a good or a bad thing.

"But you smell better." Her nose brushes against his neck and he shivers. She pulls away to look at him, with a hint of a smile.

"Tickle?" She asks and he tilts his head towards her.

"No, better." He says and the look blooms into a full smile before she tilts her head up towards his and kisses him. It's a chaste kiss and when she pulls back, he almost frowns, remembering the kisses they had shared on the roof and in the pool. Her hands move down his chest before she scoots back a little, putting some distance between them.

"Spence, I think we should talk before we continue this."

He frowns. "Talk?"

"Well… I mean, I like you and-"

"And I like you."

She smiles. "But I'm here and you're there and that's not going to change. I want to spend as much time with you when you're here as possible, but I don't…I guess I want to know what happens when you leave."

"What happens when I leave?" He asks.

"Yeah. Do we… I mean, if it goes really well, do we… are we…" She makes a face. "I just want to know where you're at."

"I'm right here." He says, frowning and she laughs before leaving another small chaste kiss on his lips.

"God, you're adorable." He leans to kiss her this time and her hands move to his shoulders, deepening to the kiss just slightly before she pulls away.

"No. We need to talk about this first. Don't distract me."

"I'm sorry." He says.

"Stop pouting. You make it hard not to kiss you."

He sucks in his bottom lip in between his teeth and she chuckles again. "Okay, what I'm asking is… do you just want this to be where we have fun these two weeks and then afterwards, we just go back to being friends or…do you want to try and make something work…"

"Like a relationship?" He asks and she nods.

"I mean, do long distance relationship work?"

"Actually, long distance relationships are no more likely to fail than a proximal relationship. With the right communication and compatibility and a want to succeed, any relationship can work."

"Really?"

"Really. In fact, some say that because there is more focus on making the relationship work and enjoying the time together, that long-distance relationships are actually-"

She leans up and kisses him. When she pulls back, she brushes her nose against his.

"That's all the facts I needed. Do you want to try and do that?"

"I…" He pauses. He's never been in a relationship. He doesn't know how to be into one. "We could take it slow, see if we actually will get to see each other enough to be qualified."

She nods, staying close. "I usually get little breaks during the filming that I could probably come visit you during. And then late April, we finish filming the season and go hiatus for a couple months, when I usually go to New York."

"New York's only a 3 hour train ride." He says, remembering Derek's words.

"Right. Too bad we didn't film in New York." She kisses his chin. "So if we see each other at least a couple times before say, April. We're going to try this relationship thing?"

"If you still want to."

Lila smiles and kisses his lips. "I will, but if we're not together now, does that mean, I don't get to take advantage of you this trip?"

"You can take advantage of me, if you'd like." He nods.

She laughs. "Good."


End file.
